Tierra Verde homicide suspect ends standoff

Published: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 2, 2009 at 12:10 a.m.

TIERRA VERDE - A standoff between a suspect in a homicide and Pinellas County deputies ended peacefully Thursday morning with his surrender.

Bartholomew Eugene Letthand, 39, held authorities at bay until he was talked into surrendering about 10 a.m. on charges he shot three men, including two of his girlfriend's sons, after a dispute with her over child rearing. One of her sons was killed. Letthand, who had a gun with him, had been threatening suicide before he surrendered, officers said.

Letthand was charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, detectives said.

Authorities began negotiating with Letthand about 7 a.m. when they found him in a vehicle at the west end of Madonna Boulevard, just off the Pinellas Bayway in Tierra Verde.

Deputies evacuated several nearby condominiums and homes while a SWAT team set up a perimeter and began negotiations.

Letthand shot the three men in two locations, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said. Two of the victims were sons of Letthand's girlfriend, Carmen Woods, Pasha said.

One of the sons, Terry Dwayne White, 21, died from his injuries. The other, Marquez A. White, 19, was seriously wounded, Pasha said.

Deputies said Letthand had been arguing with Woods over "child rearing issues." and that the sons came over after their mother left the apartment.

Letthand told deputies her sons had threatened him in the past and he was afraid they were going to break in.

The third man, Daniel Selsor, 55, was critically wounded at his residence in St. Petersburg, shortly after the brothers were shot, deputies said. Selsor has life-threatening injuries, Pasha said. Selsor is the father of Letthand's ex-girlfriend, Kathy Vaughn, deputies said.

<p><em>TIERRA VERDE</em> - A standoff between a suspect in a homicide and Pinellas County deputies ended peacefully Thursday morning with his surrender.</p><p>Bartholomew Eugene Letthand, 39, held authorities at bay until he was talked into surrendering about 10 a.m. on charges he shot three men, including two of his girlfriend's sons, after a dispute with her over child rearing. One of her sons was killed. Letthand, who had a gun with him, had been threatening suicide before he surrendered, officers said.</p><p>Letthand was charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, detectives said.</p><p>Authorities began negotiating with Letthand about 7 a.m. when they found him in a vehicle at the west end of Madonna Boulevard, just off the Pinellas Bayway in Tierra Verde.</p><p>Deputies evacuated several nearby condominiums and homes while a SWAT team set up a perimeter and began negotiations.</p><p>Letthand shot the three men in two locations, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said. Two of the victims were sons of Letthand's girlfriend, Carmen Woods, Pasha said.</p><p>One of the sons, Terry Dwayne White, 21, died from his injuries. The other, Marquez A. White, 19, was seriously wounded, Pasha said.</p><p>Deputies said Letthand had been arguing with Woods over "child rearing issues." and that the sons came over after their mother left the apartment.</p><p>Letthand told deputies her sons had threatened him in the past and he was afraid they were going to break in.</p><p>The third man, Daniel Selsor, 55, was critically wounded at his residence in St. Petersburg, shortly after the brothers were shot, deputies said. Selsor has life-threatening injuries, Pasha said. Selsor is the father of Letthand's ex-girlfriend, Kathy Vaughn, deputies said.</p>